I've got a 97 with 115k, curious to know if doing the head gasket now without machining the heads will save me $$ down the road. I guess it depends on if machining the heads is only necessary when the HG actually fails which is what I don't know.
Question: Will doing the HG before it fails save $$ (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter aggiepaintrain
- Start date
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Well you don't just "do" the hg. There is electrical wiring over the top of the engine that needs to be recovered. There are many rubber hoses that need to be replaced etc... So maybe not.But if you have a good plan.
I mean, I probably wouldn’t tear into a motor with 115k unless I just needed something to do and wanted to spend some good money doing it. You probably won’t save any money by doing it now.
On the flip side, nows a good time to assess coolant condition, radiator, other cooling stuff, and give the rig a baselining if you haven’t done so already.
I drove mine for 3 years and 30k miles before I did mine to re-ring the engine. The forum has he head gasket on the back of your mind, but bring the cooling system up to snuff and watch hour temps and you’ll be good.
On the flip side, nows a good time to assess coolant condition, radiator, other cooling stuff, and give the rig a baselining if you haven’t done so already.
I drove mine for 3 years and 30k miles before I did mine to re-ring the engine. The forum has he head gasket on the back of your mind, but bring the cooling system up to snuff and watch hour temps and you’ll be good.
Before you just jump in and start spending money on a new head gasket, you might want to think about it. Do the head gaskets fail on these trucks, the answer to that question is yes, and no. Some owners have had their head gasket fail in less then 100.000 miles. While there are other owners, with over 300.000 miles on their original head gasket and it still hasn't failed. So i guess if you've got the money, and you want to spend it, then go ahead and replace your head gasket. As for me, i look at it like this, if it hasn't broken yet, don't fix it. YMMV
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Personally I would not think about it until ~150K and only then would I consider a PM on the HG unless you frequently travel out of state. Rarely do you see an 80 series HG go pre 150K. If you travel outside of your state chances are it will cost more to get your blown HG Land Cruiser back to your home for less than a new HG. Not factoring how crappy it will make that trip.
COYS
SILVER Star
Thi$ + axle$ front/rear, brake$, drive$haft$, ga$ket$, etc. $tick with OEM where po$$ible.
I think you'll save money if you prepare, not necessarily rebuild. Theres a possibility the OEM parts you need when it fails won't be available or will cost substantially more. That being said, mine is currently a daily driver and I don't have the luxury of shopping around when something fails. My parts inventory/cost is becoming...substantial.
- Thread starter
- #9
thanks fellas
Just because it has not failed does not guarantee that you won't need to machine the head. They can and do warp under normal heat (all metal moves when you heat/cool it), just usually not very much, but could still be enough to get you out of spec once you take the tension off the head bolts. If you just assume it's fine and slap the head back on with a new gasket you could be inviting a failure sooner than if you'd just left it alone.
I am in the if it ain't broke don't fix it crowd.
I am in the if it ain't broke don't fix it crowd.
I haven't got my approach to caching parts figured out yet. I'm afraid I'll have parts and a spare drivetrain lying around, and then my rig will get T-boned and I'll end up buying a 200. Then what do I do with a bunch of 80 stuff? I guess give it all to you guys, right?
I've got 225K on the original head gasket and my rig rarely touches 200F. I've done quite a bit of "baselining" including a new cooling system. I even replaced a perfectly working radiator as preventative maintenance. I draw the line at opening up a good working engine to change something that may or may not fail. Maybe mine blows tomorrow...but I doubt it. I personally think the head gasket thing is made out to be a bigger deal than it is. No one posts a thread saying "my head gasket is doing great". You only hear about the failures, and bear in mind we are a group of enthusiast . How many 80s are being driven around by people who don't know or care that iH8mud exists? I bought my 80 thinking "I need to do the head gasket as preventative maintenance" and was enthusiastically discouraged by two reputable land cruiser shops. After 40K trouble free/ cool running miles...I'll address it if the day comes.
302K on my original head gasket. I wouldn't worry about one with 115K. Make sure your cooling system is up to snuff.
1973Guppie
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if it ain't broke......
that being said when I did my supercharger I knew I had a bad valve so just decided to pull the top end off and have a machine shop redo it. The HG was in perfect shape at 185k and the cylinders looked great as well. If you do it have the head looked over my a reputable machine shop.
that being said when I did my supercharger I knew I had a bad valve so just decided to pull the top end off and have a machine shop redo it. The HG was in perfect shape at 185k and the cylinders looked great as well. If you do it have the head looked over my a reputable machine shop.
I have 250 on my original HG. This forum causes undue HG anxiety. Just drive it and enjoy it. I would drive mine to Colorado and back tomorrow as is. If it fails it will suck but I can always use the AAA tow, rent a vehicle, and move on like anyone else would do in any other vehicle.
Fix it until it is?
Scott Norquist
SILVER Star
I did mine at 138k because my shop saw small amounts of burnt coolant on the back of the block when they had dropped the tranny. I went ahead and had it done, machined the head and valve seats and cleaned it all up. My engine purrs like a kitten, even thought it cost a fortune, haha.
Scott Norquist
SILVER Star
I feel the same way. Baselining this 80 has cost a fortune and I feel like I'd just buy a 200 if I totaled this thing haha.
